Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder?

September 7th, 2007 · 16 Comments

I have been looking at upgrading my mobile to something that works! Do you remember the 6610i phone? I use that as of now. I went into UniverCell to find out how much discount I would get if I offered my cellphone in exchange for a new one (N72 I am looking at). The sales guy tried really hard to supress a smile on seeing the phone in my hand. He said, “Rs. 1100/- saar”. I was crestfallen. I am transmorgified into the past (the C&H cartoon strip effect). It was my dream phone three years back. I had paid a fortune (around Rs. 6,000/-) to get it then. And today I hear in the background (foreground main dream chal raha hai na yar!), “Outdated. Camera is not at all useful. Nokia has stopped production. No Bluetooth also”

My primary reason of buying this phone was that. I just needed a device to make and answer phone calls and listen to FM Radio while driving (You get to watch movies if you do this). It was the need to be connected that drew me to it. Infact my first preference was a plain vanilla 6610 - the one without the camera. But by the time I could buy it, Nokia had stopped production of that one. And by the way, I am one of those who buys only Nokia mobile phones, Sony Walkmans and Apple iPods. So 6610i it would be.

It gave me excellent company. Like all Nokia phones, I found 6610i to have a very long battery life and extremely user-friendly. One of the main reasons why I always buy Nokia phones is that it is very intuitive to use. I had a Sony Ericsson phone for a brief while in between and it was hell to go through the menu of the phone. Though I must say its display and sound quality were much better than a Nokia phone in its category, it was not the easiest to navigate through. And the number of times the phone hung, countless. So, Nokia. Period.

Today I have the same fascination for the Nokia N-Series. And I can afford the N-72 alone in that series. Everything else seems fairly out of reach. But my requirements out of a phone have not changed. I still only make and answer phone calls. Even listening to FM Radio is out. I might as well go for a 1100 (if its still in production that is), but the strange fascination for N-Series is something I am unable to get over especially since I am able to afford it. God knows what i will do with the 2 MP camera, GPRS, etc.

After UniverCell we went to another multi-brand mobile showroom. The exchange price for my 6610i went up to Rs. 1500/-. And today we went to another showroom, this guy said Rs. 1750/-. Now this huge variation has left me wondering what these guys do with the second hand phones that they buy or is it just that beauty of this phone lies in the eye of the beholder?

Tags: Chennai · Business · Technology · Mobile

16 responses so far ↓

yogesh // Sep 8, 2007 at 6:36 am

ha ha… I remember when I went for exchanging my one year old K750i ‘coz the joystick was dysfunctional. Exchange guy told me 2300 Rs. (I had bought k750 for 11K.)
Then I bought moto flip for 2800/- and kept my k750i with me as souvenir of my idiocy.
Pradeep // Sep 8, 2007 at 10:31 am

Good to see someone who knows the difference between “needs” and “desires”. When “needs” are fulfilled, and if one can afford it, there’s no harm in succumbing to the “desires”.
niveditha // Sep 8, 2007 at 10:12 pm

I agree with you… NOKIA period!
Arun // Sep 9, 2007 at 12:25 am

I own a 6610i, it has been with me for nearly 3 years now. People sometime look at my phone and ask why am I not buying a new one. I have had a hard time finding reasons to buy a new phone and could not find any. Yes, I only make/take calls and once a while listen to radio. So it shall continue to stay as long as it works, I guess.
Mysorean // Sep 9, 2007 at 3:06 am

Yogesh:
The resale value concept is very bad. You buy a phone at the counter and return it saying i want to sell it - the price would have depreciated by 80%. I find that really weird. Something is going on that we don’t understand. The second-hand mobile phone market is extremely gray!

Pradeep:
:)

Niveditha:
With you! Undoubtedly!

Arun:
My keypad stopped working. That too because I exposed it to rains too many times. Otherwise 6610i would have been with me forever too! :)
S.Ganesh Kumar // Sep 9, 2007 at 5:06 am

What’s the problem with the comments?
S.Ganesh Kumar // Sep 9, 2007 at 5:07 am

Read my latest post about your beloved city Mysuru.
Mysorean // Sep 10, 2007 at 12:47 am

S.Ganesh Kumar:
Did you have any problem leaving a comment? Let me know what it was and I shall try to sort it out.

And it looks like I am having a problem with your blog. It looks empty; blank totally. Are you rectifying it?
S.Ganesh Kumar // Sep 10, 2007 at 4:55 am

Thanks to the big size of the ads,it might take some time to appear.No problem!Check it now.
Pixie // Sep 10, 2007 at 9:37 pm

Heh! Very true… Always Nokia.
totally agree :-)
My mobile too is a pretty old model, but really can’t seem to make up my mind about changing it…
PizzaDude // Sep 10, 2007 at 9:55 pm

I have a Nokia 3510i (which is about 5 years old). I just cannot seem to dispose or sell it off. And it still works perfectly fine. Hats off Nokia.

Thinking of buying a Nokia 6300. I just love how sleek it is. I feel that the N-Series phones are good but are bulky for my taste.
Anusha // Sep 11, 2007 at 8:10 am

U don’t know me…..Niveditha’s frd……and I have heard so much about you and I just read your blog…..I think its totally amazing….simply superb……and I’m going to make it a point to read your blog regurlarly……can’t wait for the next one!
Veena Shivanna // Sep 11, 2007 at 11:21 pm

I miss my 7610 phone.. It was just perfect , more than that I was so used to it for almost 2 years. I lost it recently :-(

Need to checkout for the new models…

Mobile models reminds me a joke,
Q: Whats the difference between the cell phone and marriage
A : Everybody thinks that he/she would have got a better one/deal had he waited for some more time :-)

Received an email regarding Googlei phone, atleast the pictures looks cool to me….
Mysorean // Sep 13, 2007 at 1:35 am

S.Ganesh Kumar:
Yeah it worked. I had to wait for a long time though. So, you feel Mysore needs to develop, eh?

Pixie:
Nokia has so many supporters! :)

PizzaDude:
6300 is a stunning phone. I was in two minds before making the decision. Finally I succumbed to the temptation of an N-Series! :)

Anusha:
Thanks! And I have read your blog too. Nice work, keep it going! :)

Veena:
What Google phone? Fwd please.
Veena Shivanna // Sep 13, 2007 at 4:13 am

Done Sir..
Viky // Sep 17, 2007 at 4:21 pm

I was a die-hard Nokia fan. Until I saw the Xda from O2.

Combine the ease of UI of Nokia, the music quality of Sony, the bluetooth stereo headsets of Motorola, and Windows Mobile 6.0 and you have a handset you will never need to change for atleast five years. (That is saying a lot for ANY handset)

And it also has a GPS receiver, so TECHNICALLY, you can’t get lost!!!

Mysorean